I've Got Red In My Ledger

Chapter Eighteen

As soon as Nat is gone, my attention goes to Dreykov's special project. I reach out to it and slam it against the wall, pinning it in place.
While I do that, I'm over by Dreykov.
I slip inside his mind with ease. I am there, beside him.
"Tell me about Natasha's parents." I tell him. My voice is cold.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Dreykov tells me, but he looks visibly worse for wear. What I've showed him has made an impact on him. "And it's none of your concern."
I roll my eyes.
The two of us are standing in the training room, and he's watching the girls as they perform their final test before the Graduation.
I thrust my arm out, and throw him against the wall. "I've said it once and I am only going to say it once more. Tell me the names of Natasha's parents."
Dreykov groans under the pressure of my power.
"I don't know." He grunts breathlessly.
"I know you know." I stop focusing on using my magic to pin him against the wall, and focus on manipulating the dream that we're in.
I get all of the widows to file into the room, and they all stand in a line in front of him.
They're not influenced by his mind control, and I make sure that he can't move. I make sure that he's stuck in place.
"What are you doing?" He asks me, and I know that he's beginning to break.
I just give him a cold laugh. "You're getting what you deserve, while I go through your mind to find the information that I want. It might hurt a little."
He gasps a little, and I can see the fear written all over his face. One by one, I make the widows start talking. Start screaming at him.
"Stop it." Dreykov tells me as I move to focus on finding the names of Nat's parents. "Stop! Alright! Alright!"
The girls are still screaming at him, and I think I've broken him.
"I'll tell you about them, just... just make it stop."
"Fine." I tell him, and the dream fades into his mind and we're back to reality.
His project is still struggling against the wall.
"Tell me about them." I hiss at him.
"I swear I know nothing about her mother." He tells me. "I didn't know her name."
"You killed her and you didn't even know her name?" I feel myself get more and more angry. Just because he doesn't tell me her name, doesn't mean I'm not skimming through his mind to find out what she looks like. "You killed her and you didn't even know enough about her to know her name?" I use my magic to press down on his throat. How could he? Does he not realise how much Nat wants to know her parents? How much all of these kids want to know their parents? Their own blood? Does he not think that matters in the slightest?
"I- I know her father's name." He tells me, gasping for air. "But he's dead too." There's no regret in his voice.
"What's his name?" I ask him, and I can tell he's scared of me. There's probably so few people that this man is afraid of, but here I am. I force him to kneel in front of me. He doesn't answer, and I push him down harder. "What was his name?" I hiss. "Tell me."
"Ivan! Ivan Romanoff!" He gasps, and I loosen my magic a little bit. I've become distracted, and I realise that I'm no longer keeping his project against the wall. It tries to fire a gun at me, but I cast a shield and it bounces right off.
There's a loud crash, and I turn to see Yelena and Natasha. I curse. They're not supposed to be here. They're supposed to be gone. For enough away that they can't get hurt again. But they're here. Nat just doesn't listen, although, I suppose that she could be saying the exact same thing about me.
"Together, Wanda." She tells me as I'm trying to keep both Dreykov and special weapon at bay.
There's hurt in her eyes, and for once, she doesn't try to hide it.
Yelena nods at her comment, and comes to stand beside me.
"I told you she'd be mad." She mutters in my ear.
"Shut up, Yelena." Nat mutters as she goes to deal with Dreykov.
"Nat-" I start, but she just shakes her head.
"I can't do this now." She tells me gently. "Save it for later."
I just nod. I knew this would be her reaction, I don't know what I was expecting.
"You sort Antonia, I'll sort Dreykov." Nat tells Yelena and I.
"But-" Yelena starts, about to question her, when the door bursts open. More Widows pour into the room.
"Shit. Where did they come from?" Yelena asks. Dreykov grunts from behind me.
"You didn't think I'd be here, with you, with no one to come to my aid?" He chuckles.
I feel myself deflate a little, because another ten or so Widows are here.
I have to find the energy in myself to free them all. I know I can do it. I've done more than this.
Yelena distracts half of the Widows so that I don't have to focus on so many at the same time. My head is pounding. I have to do this will trying to keep them off of me.
"Did you say Antonia?" Yelena grunts as she fights. "Isn't that-"
"Dreykov's daughter." Nat tells us. Dreykov knocks her off of her feet. All signs of the broken man that I saw earlier are gone.
I can't do all of these things at once.
Dreykov, while Nat recovers from being hit by him, moves to the screen. He does something to it, and all at once, the widows stop fighting us, instead they move towards Dreykov.
Nat goes to attack him once more, and Yelena and I have to focus on the task master. I managed to free four of the widows. Six more are left, and they all crowd around him, escorting him from the room.
I manage to get two more of the girls out of the mind control, which leaves four of them. I have no choice. I cannot leave them to go with him. So, I follow them, manipulating their minds as they're walking. It takes more energy when I have to concentrate on their moving mind, and I feel my energy being drained by the second.
Two are left, and Dreykov begins to panic. He ducks around a corner, and some of his men replace the widows.
My head feels light.
I am about to aim a hand towards Dreykov, when I turn and see Natasha. Held by the throat in the air. Her feet off the ground as she struggles to breathe.
Yelena is on the floor, and I have no choice but to turn around and go back to them.